7 Reasons to Coordinate with Translators for Game Localization

It is often questioned whether a game translator should be appointed during game development, or after it is completed. Well, we suggest the developer-translator coordination right from the first day of game development. Why? Let’s find out the main reasons for that.

1. To ensure the quality of translation

As translators possess cross-cultural knowledge, they can provide plenty of insights to any targeted geography. With a professional translator onboard involved in the development process, the game developer can deliver a real time gaming experience to game audiences across the world. With a close coordination between the two parties, it would be easy to understand the preferences of gamers in other countries. On the other hand, if a translator is involved after the game is already developed, it could be hard to meet the quality benchmarks for the translated game copy.

2. To avoid unnecessary costs

If the translator or localizer was not involved in the video game development process, they have to rework the existing language. This rework would obviously require time, effort and money. Therefore, it is always recommended to engage the translation team during game development. Even if you are working on a small game project, you must consider the prospects of cross-cultural expansion.

3. To improve the game dynamics

As said earlier, professional game localization familiarizes your application with other cultures, integrating the localization process to your game development would help identifying areas you can improve. This enables you enhance the gaming experience for diverse range of players worldwide.

4- To reduce bugs and errors

Carrying the development and translation processes parallel to each other would ensure a bug-free game localization. The translator can work along with the developers and evaluate the application to find out any possible bugs. As a result, the end product will have least or even no bugs when it goes to public.

5. To target larger market in the start

Developing a unilingual game means that you are targeting a small niche of the market, reducing the prospects to earn greater profits. In comparison to that, if the development and localization are carried at the same time, you can release the game concurrently for all the international markets. It would certainly lead to larger target market, thus higher profits. Sim-ship Localization, i.e. simultaneous release of all localized versions, should be well-planned and well-executed from the beginning; it also requires localization-friendly code and well-organized assets. Unlike Post-gold Localization, i.e. localizing a game after completing the original version, many resources are needed for sim-ship localization to integrate and test all the languages at once.

6. To gain competitive advantage

Identifying and analyzing applications of competitors are compulsory for designing and developing a game. If your rival games are not offering multilingual experience to its customers, it is a great opportunity for you to leverage the gaming community. By introducing localized interfaces and characters in the initial game release, you can gain a significant advantage over other games.

7. To have flawless representation of game expressions

Many games become controversial when in-game expressions are misrepresented in other cultures. To avoid being stuck in such a situation, you need a well-designed localization process to make sure the translated game content does not offend anyone.

After reviewing these points, you should be convinced how necessary it is to coordinate localization activities with the overall game development process.